How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Poland

Polish import VAT is 23%, 8% or 5% on the customs value plus duty and other charges, and an active VAT payer can settle it in the VAT return under article 33a. Online orders from outside the EU up to EUR 150 also pay a flat EUR 3 duty per item position on the customs declaration, converted to zloty, and all online orders pay a EUR 2 fee per item since 1 November 2026. The customs debtor is the seller, the platform or their representative, not the buyer.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: Customs value plus duties and other charges due on import, plus incidental costs such as transport and insurance to the first place of destination. Under IOSS, VAT is on the sale price at checkout.
• VAT standard rate: 23%. A 0% rate applies in specific cases, such as exports.
• Reduced rates: 8%, 5%

IOSS: non-EU sellers and marketplaces may register in one member state, through an EU intermediary unless their country has a qualifying recovery agreement, to charge destination VAT on consignments up to EUR 150, excluding excise goods. Without IOSS, Special Arrangements or standard import VAT apply. From 1 November 2026 product identifiers are mandatory on these distance sales.

• Temporary fuel rate measures in 2026 were seen in search excerpts and left out.

The law puts the debt on whoever declares the goods. KAS says the consumer doesn't pay directly: the seller, platform or their representative does, and the price may rise to cover it.

In practice many parcels come through Poczta Polska, which usually handles clearance. It says the duty is not its own fee. It collects the charge and passes it to KAS. Beyond that, you may pay VAT if it wasn't paid at purchase, and Poczta Polska's fee for making the customs declaration, which its notice doesn't quantify. Charges are collected on delivery or before collection, depending on the procedure. If the description is unclear or data is missing, a shipment can wait in the postal and customs warehouse. You can refuse a shipment.

Business customers can use Poczta Polska's declaration service, file themselves or use an agency. Declarations go through the AIS system on PUESC, the customs and tax portal.

KAS counts by position on the customs declaration: goods of the same kind make one position, so a varied order costs more than a large one. Three T-shirts are EUR 3. A T-shirt, headphones and a phone case are EUR 9. The EUR 2 fee follows the same count.

On parcels up to EUR 150, three additional procedure codes decide the VAT:

• F48, IOSS: VAT was charged at the checkout. The system checks the IOSS number.
• F49, special arrangements: VAT is calculated at 23%, whatever the goods.
• F53, standard H7: VAT is calculated at the rate for the goods.

Above EUR 150, the normal tariff rate replaces the EUR 3 and the fee still applies to distance sales. The base for tax is the same in principle at any value: customs value, duty, other import charges and costs to the first destination in Poland. The import duty calculator gives a figure for a specific product, and import tax rates compares the VAT rates.

1. Code the goods: the HS code classifier gets you started. The code decides positions and the VAT rate.
2. Pick the route: for parcels up to EUR 150, F48, F49 or F53. Above EUR 150 or for excise goods, a full declaration.
3. Set the duty: EUR 3 per position, or the tariff rate on the customs value above EUR 150.
4. Add the EU fee: EUR 2 per position on distance sales.
5. Convert to zloty: customs converts euro amounts at its own rate, so the zloty figure moves a little each month.
6. Calculate VAT: 23% under F49. Under F53 or a full declaration, 23%, 8% or 5% as the goods require, on the value, duty, fee and transport.
7. Add the operator’s fee: ask Poczta Polska or your courier for the declaration charge.

Hand blender and a travel cup, no IOSS, under F53, two positions, and we’ve used the ECB rate for 5 November 2026 (EUR 1 = PLN 4.3890).

Customs uses its own rate, so expect small differences.

A printed book, one position, shows what the code does.

Tools to a company in Wrocław using article 33a, tariff rate assumed at 4%.

• Expecting 5% on books under the special arrangements: F49 calculates at 23%. Choose F53 or a full declaration if the reduced rate matters.
• Thinking the buyer is the debtor: KAS names the seller, platform or representative. A buyer sees the cost in the price or on the post office’s bill.
• Counting quantity: positions are groups of the same kind, so a mixed basket of cheap items costs more than a box of identical ones.
• Filing JPK_V7K with article 33a: you must report these imports on the monthly file.
• Assuming a return gets your money back: on these parcels, duty and VAT stay paid.

Article 33a. An importer can show import VAT in the VAT return, with no cash paid at the border, and deduct it there. To do so you file a statement with the head of the customs and tax office covering your seat or residence, including confirmation of your active VAT status, through PUESC. The statements have a limited life, so renew them on time. Report in monthly JPK_V7M, not quarterly, in fields P_25 and P_26 and K_25 and K_26, with the MRN as the document number. Late or uncorrected errors can lose you the right to use it for the whole declaration. It doesn't apply to goods at 0%. A bill filed in the Sejm on 22 July 2026 proposes changes, but that's a draft, so check its status.

Returns. KAS says the new rules don't cancel the customs declaration, so duty and VAT already collected aren't refunded when goods go back.

Gifts. Gifts between private individuals up to EUR 45 stay free of duty and VAT.

Rates. 5% covers certain basic foods and printed books. 8% covers certain processed foods and agricultural products. 0% is for cases such as exports.

KAS is applying EU law here, so de minimis and IOSS and VAT give the wider rule. This is guidance, not tax advice.